Instant Message/Chat Update

Our Instant Message/Chat product, Meebo Messenger, is no longer available. We will replace it asap. Meanwhile, if you have a reference question, please call us (847-362-2330), send us an email or visit us in person.

Coming July 11th: Changes to PC Usage

To provide more convenience for patrons who desire flexibility regarding computer usage,  we are making the following changes as of Wednesday, July 11:

Each library cardholder who logs in to one of our computers will have 3 hours of computer usage that day.  This can be divided into any number of sessions, as long as the total time doesn't exceed 3 hours. There will no longer be 15 minute extensions, since those are built into the three hour total.

Non-cardholders can obtain one visitor pass per day at the Adult Reference Desk. The pass is good for one hour of computer time, which can be used all at once or divided into shorter sessions.

Also, we will no longer limit any PCs to 15 minute "express" sessions.

Upstairs Downstairs

Have you visited the lower level of our Cook Park Library since the children’s department moved upstairs last year? Every week we still encounter patrons who are pleasantly surprised when they take the stairs (or elevator) downstairs to explore the adult materials now housed in the former children’s room. When you pay our lower level a visit you will find a wide variety of materials, including many new releases, in these categories:

• Music CDs and Scores
• Mysteries
• Science Fiction
• Paperbacks
• Book Club Selections
• Oversize “coffee table” books
• Genealogy and Local History, including microfilm
• Plays and Poetry
• Special Collections, including Exam Prep, Career, English Language Learning, Foreign Language (Spanish, Russian, Chinese, French), Automotive Repair, and Great Courses.

You will also find tables for studying, and a librarian who will be happy to answer your questions. Pay us a visit!

Book Clubs Update

Are you in a book club? If so, would you like to know how the library can help your club? If not, would you like to join one at the library?

You’ll find everything you need to know at http://www.cooklib.org/fiction-movies-music/book-clubs, including:

Schedule and upcoming titles for the book clubs led by Cook Memorial staff.

• Morning book discussion meets at Cook Park at 10 a.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. Led by Connie Regan.
• Evening book discussion meets at Cook Park at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Led by Ellen Jennings.
• Agatha Mystery Book Club meets at Cook Park at 1:30 on the first Monday of the month. Led by Mary Ann Constantine.
• Starting in September we will be adding a Nonfiction Book Club, which will meet at Cook Park at 2 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. Led by Haley Samuelson.
• Coming later next fall: Classics Book Club

Our staff also actively supports 120 book clubs in our community by recommending discussion titles and assisting club members in borrowing copies of the books discussed. Choose Authors and Themes from the drop-down menu under Book Clubs to see the list of over 200 authors for whose titles we have multiple-copy sets, and to see the books arranged by theme.

On the Book Clubs page you will also find links to our guidelines for book club support, the form your club can complete to register with us, recommended web sites for books clubs, and information about how your club can be “Booked for Dessert” at the library.